I actually find most officials to try to be decent, there are on occasions some that are not, but the truth is that it is up to us as parents and coaches to contact the head official at the end of each tournament as well as tournament directors. Let them know what we thought of the officials. These guys, and in a few cases, ladies, are doing their best and don't want to make mistakes. Some are lazy and don't get down to check for pins, are lazy to start the count when a wrestler is on their back, etc. It is important to develop relationships with them and learn to respect them. Believe me this is something I have learned to do and believe that learning how to question a call is important.
Some officials are not consistent on judgment calls, some may call locked hands differently than others, some may look at stalling different than others. In those situations there is the long lost art of scouting the official and having your kid wrestle according to how the official refs. My son lost a semi final match at Tulsa Nationals last year on a stalling call, I didn’t complain because I knew the ref was quick to call that call and that my son had to force the action, I told him, he just didn’t do it. This year he lost a challenge for 2nd match on a stalling call, this time though it was stalling and the official made in my opinion a horrible call. I contacted the tournament director along with others who saw the call, in overtime, and complained. Same call, but I believe interpreted differently, in one situation within the rules and another not.
There is another important point though, when you see a good official make sure you point them out and talk to the tournament director and head official about that person. I have actually done that this year and can't tell you how much the officials thanked me for pointing out a good one. In each case, I have seen the official go out of their way to get information from them to make sure that, that official, (the one I said did a good job) can ref more. It has been nice to see some new guys getting more tournament time, and I have been told by a head official and a tournament director that in each of those cases it was because I recommended the person and they were glad I did.
You see me being nicer to officials now a days, that is something I have learned and have come to realize that many of these are great guys, and the effort was worth it. It also makes it easier to ask about rules, interpretations, and so forth.
